OER Adoption in Higher Education: A Case Study of Stakeholders' Perceptions at a Florida State College

The purpose of this case study was to document stakeholders’ perceptions of adopting and integrating OER materials in higher education. Specifically, this study sought to understand the perceptions of institutional faculty, librarians, instructional designers, and students with the adoption and use of OER at a state college in east Florida. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with institutional faculty, librarians, and instructional designers. A survey was distributed to students enrolled in OER integrated courses during the Spring semester. Theoretical perspectives on the adoption and diffusion of OER as an innovation were grounded in Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation theory. An analysis of the data revealed that stakeholder perceptions are a key factor in the rate of adoption and diffusion within the institution. Faculty perceptions of resource quality and time involved to curate the resources proved challenging for OER adoption and integration. Instructional designers perceived the resources as time consuming yet highly accessible. Librarians perceived the resources as beneficial, but a lack of awareness and understanding of licensing rules made adoption and integration challenging. Students perceived the resources as advantageous, above average in quality, and just as effective as traditional textbooks. Despite the challenges presented, stakeholders agreed that access to the resources and the cost savings for students were significant enough to outweigh the time involved to locate, adapt, implement, and utilize the resources